On Wednesday (April 30) Lorde revealed details of her highly-anticipated fourth album, Virgin, which is set to be released on June 27. The Grammy-winning pop superstar co-produced the record – her first since 2021’s Solar Power – along with Jim-E Stack, and the project features collaborations with Dev Hynes, Daniel Nigro, Fabiana Palladino, Andrew Aged, and Buddy Ross. The album cover features an x-ray image of a pelvis with a visible belt buckle and IUD in a blue tint.

In an all-caps message Lorde sent out to fans, she shared personal insight into the album: “THE LANGUAGE IS PLAIN AND UNSENTIMENTAL. THE SOUNDS ARE THE SAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE. I WAS TRYING TO SEE MYSELF, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMININITY. I’M PROUD AND SCARED OF THIS ALBUM. THERE’S NOWHERE TO HIDE. I BELIEVE THAT PUTTING THE DEEPEST PARTS OF OURSELVES TO MUSIC IS WHAT SETS US FREE.” Lorde shared the album’s lead single, “What Was That,” last week, and it quickly rose to the top of Spotify’s U.S. chart, her first song to achieve that feat since “Royals” in 2012. Pre-orders are available on Lorde’s webstore. (Rolling Stone)